Crowds 'chalk' up a good time at Somerset festival

Katie Smolen, The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa.
·2 min read

Jul. 25—SOMERSET — Kathy Hoffman, of Berlin, created a drawing of Clifford the Big Red Dog during a Saturday full of sunshine and art at Somerset Inc.'s Chalk the Block festival in Uptown Somerset.

The event featured music, food vendors and chalk drawings all over the borough's sidewalks by professional and emerging artists, as well as younger participants.

"I like it because it's for kids, so I try to stick with children's characters," she said. "My favorite part is seeing the kids' faces light up when they recognize whatever I'm drawing."

Beth Svonavec, of Somerset, attended the event for the first time with family and friends from Pittsburgh, including 2-year-old Mateo Brun, who watched professional artist Lori Hughes draw the character Bing Bong from the movie "Inside Out."

"I like pink," Mateo said, pointing to the elephant character from the Disney Pixar movie.

Svonavec said the event is "something nice to do."

"They're just very talented. There's lots of talent," she said of the artists. "It's nice for the kids because I think that they recognize a lot of the characters they're drawing and it's nice to see it done in person."

Hughes, of Columbus, Ohio, said that this was her third year attending the festival. She started creating chalk drawings after she attended a similar festival.

"It can only be seen once," she said, explaining what she likes about chalk art. "It can only be appreciated in person. I mean, you can take a picture of it, but it's not the same as when you're actually there."

Caroline and Clare Troll participated in the youth competition. Their father, Chuck, said it was the family's first time attending the event.

He said that his daughters like creating artwork and supporting community events, and the family would attend the festival again in the future.

Sam Glessner, of Frostburg, Maryland, enjoyed spending her day in the free chalk area with her friend, Laikyn Bowser, of Somerset.

Bowser added that she had always wanted to attend the event and finally took a day off and enjoyed "just being creative and colorful."

"The fact that everyone is so positive out here," she said when asked what she enjoyed about the event. "Everyone is just saying what a nice job we're doing."